IPL 2018: 5 players looking forward to the IPL to cement their place in the Indian team
Indian Premier League is merely a few days away and this year's season is going to be more exciting than ever as all the teams have been reshuffled for the first time since the first season in 2008. The IPL has always been a stage for young players to showcase their talent and book a berth in the international squad. On the other hand, there are some players who see IPL as a stage to make a comeback to the Indian team.
World Cup 2019 is just a year away and the selectors must be keeping a close eye on the upcoming tournament to hand pick players who need to be prepared before the tournament kicks off in England next year. The number 4 position and Kedar Jadhav's spot in the Indian ODI team have always been a topic of discussion among the cricket critics and there have been many players who have been tested at the two positions in the past few months.
Here are a few of those players who have been experimented with in the past few months and will look to cement their place in the Indian team by performing in the IPL.
#5 Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane who was part of the ODI and Test teams for South Africa tour has already cemented his place in the Test squad but his position in the ODI squad still isn't clear. Rahane who had performed consistently for India in the Australia series last year was benched in the following series which became a topic of discussion among cricket fans in India.
In a statement, Rohit Sharma said that Rahane was being seen as a backup opener for India but Rahane silenced all the talking when he scored a brilliant 79 batting at number 4 in the first ODI of South Africa tour. He didn't impress much in the rest of the ODIs, yet he became a potential option to fill the number-4 void in the ODI team.
Rahane is the newly appointed captain of Rajasthan Royals after Steve Smith was sacked following the ball tampering incident. The skipper must be looking forward to leading from the front and make a statement with the bat too.